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hailey.lee | MIT Center for Civic Media

hailey.lee

Hailey Lee

Junior. Wellesley College.

Hailey Lee is an Economics-International Relations major at Wellesley College with a keen interest in economics and broadcast journalism. She is eager to discover new uses of technology in the transformation of the journalism industry and storytelling. She hopes that her 'Intro to Civic Media' class at the MIT Civic Media Lab will be one step to seek the answer. In her free time, she is a die-hard foodie, is an oil and watercolor painter and writes constantly.

Recent blog posts by hailey.lee

This blog post features our collaborative note-taking in class on Monday, 11/7, regarding the Arab Spring. Thank you to Mary for facilitating the discussion. Below are the main ideas from our class. The raw note taking can be viewed here: http://brownbag.me:9001/p/introcivic-arabspring

If I could describe civic media in two words, it would be: citizen media.
Civic Media as I described it in September still stands, "Civic Media facilitates the practice of democracy through the provision of information that inspires civic engagement with other citizens and the government." When one person learns of a tragedy or a community issue that is very concerning, civic media allows you to mobilize to connect with others with similar concerns. Although you are powerless as one, various forms of civic media unifies you into a larger picture. One such form of civic media is participatory media (e.g. Facebook, youtube) through which you can not only learn and discuss about issues, but you can also post your own information and share it with the community at large. I never imagined this form of communal awareness to be a form of civic media. Back in September, I only considered citizen journalism to be the main form of civic media--made by everyday citizens for everyday citizens. Now I realize civic media encompasses all forms of media that mobilizes civic engagement. A large definition indeed.

The November 16th class readings focused on the history and expansion of 'Anonymous,' originating with their traditional form of lighthearted dissent and satire for the sake of 'lulz' to becoming a passionate political movement. Personally, I find that Anonymous cannot be both types at the same time--it not only detracts from the groups identity, it also obscures its purpose of existence and stretches its influence far too wide. The two forms of Anonymous are polar opposites of each other! One is supposed to be lighthearted and the core purpose is to poke fun at people who do take things too seriously in life. The other side, people have taken politics--one of the most serious topics ever--and have become active under the pseudonym, 'Anonymous.'

This is far from appropriate. Let the original Anonymous stand! Indeed the use of anonymity is powerful and use in political activism but it is wholly inappropriate to remain under the original lulz-based Anonymous group. Arguably, the only commonality is that they both use satire and both are hacking anonymously. The politicization of Anonymous has shifted its focus into serious real-world issues.

-Minorities participating in Boston TV:
Based on personal experience working in the Boston TV industry how have the demographics change in the past ten years?
(minority participation then and now)
As a minority working in the television news industry, do you feel there is a disparity in the types of stories that you are interested in covering compared to other reporters?
What is your opinion in the diversity of stories that get covered in the television news industry?
-If not enough, what do you suggest to change the coverage?
Do you think the news industry workers and the stories that they cover are reflective of the populations they serve?

This is a collaborative blog post with Mary Kenefake. We will be working together on our final civic media project. Our final project will be a 15-25 page paper accompanied by a 5-7 minute long video that reflects our paper’s arguments. In this sense, we are producing civic media that provides awareness of minority trends in Boston TV news industry.

Our Working Title: Minority Representation in the Boston Television News Industry